So last night while I was traveling home via public transit, I was also trying to keep in contact with my wife via instant messaging. This is a common practice for my wife and I so that I can enjoy my trip more and she can know that I am safe and getting closer to home.

Well things seemed fairly normal in the conversations I was having except it did seem that she was having a harder time than usual understanding what I was saying. I had a long wait between buses and I was getting pretty hungry, so I started instant messaging questions about my dinner options for home. In come responses from my wife that they had “GoodStuff” for dinner and when I asked if there was any left for me, a resounding “Yes!” with smileys came back. I knew that they must have finished eating hours ago, so I made a request for her to start reheating it so that I could eat quickly and then move on to doing bedtime for our two daughters. I was so happy when a quick IM response came back saying: “Sure! OK!” and again a long line of various smileys.

More small chat continued until I arrived home to find an empty table and empty stove. Although it was nice to see that everything was so neat and clean, I was a little disappointed that there was no hot dinner for me after the IM conversation we just had. I then noticed that my wife was busy with our laundry and my 7 year old daughter (aka: Thing Two) was next to her holding my wife’s phone (we use our phones for instant messaging). Not only was Thing Two happy to see me, she was also laughing a lot more than usual. I asked my wife about the IM conversation we had moments ago, and she looked a little confused. This is when Thing Two jumps up and says: “I fooled you Daddy! You thought I was Mommy!” We all had quite a laugh.

It was just shocking at how I was not able to notice the difference. My wife tends to be very terse in her IM communication, so it did not seem odd for me to ask a long question and then receive a small “ok” response. Boy has Thing Two come a long way in her pranks. I’m both proud of her and a little scared for what we’re in for as well.

it’s not that the area is too dangerous, but that when I leave after 8pm, the buses do not run as often and therefore it can take over an hour for me to get home. If you’re married, you will understand the protocol involved here bro. ;-}

Auntie Valerie

I am surprised the numerous smileys didn’t tip you off. 🙂 As for being sneaky…she is a girl after her auntie’s heart!